Two of California’s three major investor-owned utilities, PG&E and SCE, have filed details of their interconnection costs for net-metered systems. Interestingly, PG&E reported application and processing costs of $6.19 million spread over 88,250 applications ($70.20 per application), while SCE reported processing costs of $2.52 million spread over 74,847 new applications ($33.72 per application).

These cost figures are significant because under California’s net-metering successor tariff, participants will be subject to cost-based interconnection application fees.

EQ Research published a report earlier this month that found that even as small solar PV systems become increasingly common in the United States, utilities’ interconnection processes are often lengthy and problematic. The new report, an update to a similar report published in 2015, compares how interconnection timelines have improved – or worsened – for dozens of major electric utilities, including utilities in California. The full report and its recommendations are publicly available here.